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Groups seek tighter law on sales at Iowa gun shows
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Groups seek tighter law on sales at Iowa gun shows DES MOINES (AP) - Gun violence is rampant and the public backs tighter restrictions on sales of firearms at gun shows, a coalition of gun-control groups told Iowa lawmakers Wednesday. At a Statehouse press conference, the groups also called for a measure making it easier for police to remove guns from the homes of domestic abusers. "Gun violence in the United States is the highest of any industrialized nation by far," said John Johnson, head of Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence. Under federal law, licensed gun dealers who sell weapons at gun shows are required to conduct background checks of those making purchases, but private collectors are not. Gun-control advocates have tried without success to persuade Congress to close that loophole, rejecting claims that background checks would effectively shut down gun shows. "Seventy-two percent of all background checks are completed within two minutes, and 95percent of all background checks are completed within two hours," said Kirsten Meredith, a spokeswoman for the gun-control coalition. The groups released survey results supporting their position. According to the survey, 87 percent of respondents favored background checks for people purchasing handguns at gun shows. Nine percent were opposed. The random telephone survey of 400 Iowans was conducted the week of Jan. 14 by Frank N. Magid Associates, a Marion-based research and consulting firm. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. State Sen. Don Redfern, R-Cedar Falls, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over gun-control issues, noted that the same proposal was stalled last year by Republicans leery of gun control. The domestic-abuse issue is complicated, because federal law already prohibits convicted domestic abusers from owning firearms, but the law is rarely enforced. A separate measure would give enforcement authority to local police. "This will reduce the potential for a domestic dispute or argument to turn lethal," said Jill Avery, program director for the Family Violence Center. She said 12 times more women are killed by men they know than are killed by strangers. "A firearm is the most commonly used weapon in domestic homicide," she said. That measure also was introduced in the Legislature last year and made little progress. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=36&u_sid=294340
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Politicians, like diapers, should be changed often and for the same reason.